sunset from behind the wire

Friday, September 16, 2016

International News

US SECSTATE John (Swiftboat) Kerry

Yesterday I read on the Internet about what a wonderful job John Kerry has been doing as Secretary of State under Barack. The commenter cited reports circulated on MSNBC of American victories in Syria. I said to myself, "so it's come to that?" Naturally I don't waste my time listening to drivel on the network that can't speak the truth - but the Obama propaganda machine is apparently trying to twist facts to show that America has made some measure of progress in Syria.

It was news to me. Likely news to the Syrians, the Russians, the Turks, the Iranians and the Israelis, who the US ignores these days because they have a habit of counteracting Barack. The US President and his administration are viewed as ignorant and dangerous fools by most everyone in the Middle East - and coincidentally, by your blogger as well.

Since you're not going to get the genuine news on the US News outlets, I thought to bring you up to speed if you care to read further.

RUSSIA

Vladimir Putin

Russia intends to keep the US bogged down all over the world. They do this by promoting our involvement in un-winable conflicts and unsolvable problems that tie down our troops and resources while at the same time enhancing Russian stature and security.

We spend treasure, American lives, and waste American political capital while the Russians nudge us off balance. It's not a bad strategy and it's working in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in the Russian joint operations with China and elsewhere.

The Russians have Barack's number as do most international leaders, and they do not take him seriously because he's a goof.

To that extent, the Russian approach to Turkey is linked to its overall strategy to limit US influence in Europe and the Middle East. Its involvement in Syria has served the purpose of shoring up an old ally and blocking US policy objectives should Syrian President Assad be overthrown by the rebels.

The Russian presence in Syria has helped create opportunities for exploiting the strain in Turkey’s relations with its NATO allies.

Turkey continues to stress the importance of the NATO alliance, but discussions with the Russians on security matters raise questions of trust. Trust among allies is one of the worst casualties of the 15 July coup attempt in Turkey and its aftermath.

Little will result from the current “dialogue” underway because Russia and Turkey have almost no common policy objectives for Syria.

NORTH KOREA

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on 15 September that his country is ready to counter US actions. “The people of Korea are ready to stage another attack against the provocations of the US,” Ri said during a speech at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement countries in Venezuela.

The US conducted a fly-over by two bombers, which I'm sure you didn't hear about on the evening news. The North Korean media dismissed the flyover by the two US strategic bombers as a “bluff.” They poked fun at it, but they also acknowledged it. A military demonstration intended to intimidate North Koreans has resulted in the same result as past demonstrations: the North is indignant, insulted and more defiant.

Expect more sensational provocations from the Norks. The North Korean leaders judge that their sensational military demonstrations are deterring the US from attacking them.

INDIA-AFGHANISTAN

As you may or may not know, the Taliban were created by Pakistan, which continues to have a serious interest in Afghanistan.

Enter India, which will do just about anything to screw with the Pakistanis. I'm not saying that I disagree with this, just that they're doing it. And I'm nearly positive that none of the US News outlets are discussing it.

On 14 September, after a meeting between Afghan President Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Modi, India announced it offered Afghanistan $1 billion in developmental economic aid. President Ghani said that the funds would be devoted to building infrastructure.

At the UN, the deputy permanent representative of India to the UN, Ambassador Tanmaya Lal, questioned the lack of UN action to designate Taliban leader Akhundzada a terrorist.

The Ghani government has tilted to India. To put the tilt in context, President Ghani came to office in 2014 aiming to improve relations with Pakistan. After exchanges of high level visits and negotiations, no improvement in relations occurred.

This year, Pakistan tightened border controls at main crossing points, as a counter-terror measure. The Taliban do not use the main border crossings for infiltration into Afghanistan. However, strict border controls impose a severe hardship on the tens of thousands of Afghans who live in Afghanistan, but cross the border to work in Pakistan.

Pakistan has not restrained the Taliban leadership in Quetta, Pakistan. It also has not controlled the Haqqani terrorists who are the primary bombers in Kabul, but are based in Pakistan.

With some justification, Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of deliberately declining to control anti-Pakistan terrorists (Tajiks) who operate from northeastern Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, the two situations are not comparable. Pakistani support for the Afghan Taliban enables them to pose a potentially existential threat to the Afghan government. On the other hand, the Pakistani Taliban are not remotely capable of posing such a threat to the Pakistani government.

Since December, when India delivered four attack helicopters to the Afghan air force, the Ghani government increasingly has looked to India and to Iran for assistance. Within the past month, India has extended military and economic aid to Afghanistan. At the UN on the 15th, it provided political cover.

Pakistani leaders have managed to turn India and Afghanistan into enemies again in less than two years. Even the Chinese are growing weary of Pakistan’s inability to control its security situation. Conditions are in place for steadily increasing tension in South Asia.

Housekeeping

As of January 1, 2017 this blog began to receive anonymous posts. I try not to delete them, but if you want to be taken seriously here, you need to identify yourself, if only by some sort of cryptonym.

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